Starting Over

I took a long hiatus from puppetry. Now that my daughters are grown, I'm just not around kids that much. And then just over a year ago I moved out to the Mojave Desert and there are no kids anywhere near me at all! But now I have grandchildren far away and they are just getting old enough to appreciate puppets. So maybe that will be motivation for me to start again. Plus I always wanted to do puppet shows on YouTube. So I'll add that to the list of 1000 things I want to do. Puppets. Yeah.

Knitted Curtain Back Drop

I've been wanting to make a new puppet theater for awhile. I recently bought a pop-up canopy for craft fairs. I think I can convert it into a puppet theater sometimes.

So today I started knitting a backdrop curtain for it for an under the sea theme.  It will be shades of blue, green, and black. Maybe I'll bring back Marina the Mermaid. We'll see.  It would be fun to knit some fish puppets.

Yah Gotta Take Them Out and Walk Them

This is too awesome for words.

How Bad Do You Need to Win?

Another puppet maker whose name I won't mention came to Etsy chat to announce her felt finger puppet was entered into a blog contest.  She asked people in the room to come vote her up, since someone was beating her by a hair. I guess I don't have issues with that.

Then she went on to say she'd hopped onto every computer she could find to vote for herself.  Now that's just sad.

So I went to look at the entries, and there was another puppet maker in the contest.  She had entered two marionettes which take way more work than one tiny finger puppet. So I voted for her, even though she's way behind the leaders.  So I went to her blog and found this adorable witch puppet. I just had to share it.

http://bybido.blogspot.com/2010/09/little-witch-doll-puppet.html?showComment=1298075422965#c3331672184334002621

The other puppet maker from Etsy will probably win the contest, but the way she's doing it is suspect.  Just doesn't seem right.

Puppet Vendor at SCA event yesterday.

At an SCA event we were vending at there was a puppet booth. I saw the same booth at the Irvine Lake Ren. Faire. Here are some photos I got with permission of the vendor.

Penguin and Owl Finger Puppets

I made 2 new finger puppets today. One is a penguin and one is an owl. They are both made from acrylic felt, which is made from recycled soda bottles. Glad to know all those empties I returned turned into something useful.

Puppets at World Ren. Faire

Yesterday I went to the World Renaissance Faire by Irvine Lake and found a puppet booth. So I took a few photos of her amazing puppets. It's a shame the event didn't have more customers. She said business had been slow. It really takes an optomist to start a new faire in this economy. I hope the event had more visitors on Sunday.

Car Fox

Car Fax has a new commercial mascot which is a car Fox puppet. Always nice to spot a puppet in a TV commercial. When the customer asks for a Car Fax, the slippery salesman pulls out the Car Fox puppet instead.

Spoon Monster?

This isn't quite a puppet yet, but I think I can turn it into a rod puppet. I just need to figure out how to fasten a dowel to it, or maybe tuck a wooden spoon inside and crochet around the handle to secure it. Has potential.

Paper Bag Puppets

There sure are a lot of puppets on Flickr. So if you need some inspiration or just want to have some fun, go to http://www.flickr.com and type in puppet or puppetry or finger puppets into their search engine.

Or go to google and click on images and look at all the puppets. Try looking for handpuppet, marionette, fingerpuppet, and so on. Remember paper bag puppets? Those are still good fun for a rainy day. I like old school stuff anyway. I grew up in a family with five kids so we made a lot of paper bag puppets. Our hallway became an impromptu puppet theater and no cardboard box was safe from being turned into a television with puppets dancing inside.

Found Art Puppets

Before you run to the store to buy even more parts for making puppets, check your home stash first. Here is a list of things that can be converted to use as a puppet or puppet theater.

1. Margarine and yogurt containers.
2. Coffee can lids.
3. Egg cartons.
4. Foam trays from veggies.
5. Pipe cleaners
6. Bits of ribbon, lace and trim left from other projects
7. Quilt scraps that are too small for quilts
8. Hair bows, ties, bobby pins
9. Zip ties
10. Wire twist ties from trash bag cartons.
11. Gourds
12. Balls
13. Feathers
14. Thread, yarn, artificial sinew scraps
15. Old spools
16. Telephone wire leftovers
17. Any wire
18. Paints
19. Beeswax
20. Hot melt glue
21. Gesso
22. Flour, salt, water (bread dough art)
23. Dried flowers, herbs, leaves
24. Tiddly winks, dice, random game pieces
25. Driftwood
26. Onion skins, tea, coffee (for dyeing)
27. Lids off of bottles
28. Socks
29. T-shirts
30. Rags
31. Hankerchiefs
32. Old screens
33. Dryer vent hose scraps
34. Buttons
35. Sleeves from sweaters, long sleeved t-shirts
36. Drapes
37. Bamboo (chopsticks, skewers, placemats)
38. Barettes
39. Rubber bands or elastic hair ties
40. Seeds
41. Tights
42. Rubber stamps
43. Wool roving
44. Stain or shoe polish
45. Shoe parts
46. Eyelets or snaps
47. Leather scraps
48. Broken toys
49. Unwanted holiday ornaments
50. Dryer lint
51. Paper scraps
52. Dowels, broom handles, broom bristles.
53. Soda bottles

And this is just the beginning. Most of us throw away tons of stuff that can be put to use in the world of puppets. Young children will need to be supervised. Remember, temporary puppets for a few days of fun can be made of things that might fall apart over time, like moss and sticks. For more permanent puppets use plastic, metal washers, and so on to give it more durability.

Mouse Archer Fingerpuppet

Right now I'm working on mouse finger puppets. The first one is an archer mouse that's gotten rave reviews so far and I'm not even done with it yet. Think Robin Hood only with a tail and a beady nose.

I still want to make some big mouth puppets this year. I went to Walmart to look for the thin foam to put inside the head, and to my surprise they have all but removed their craft dept. So I'll have to get it at Joann's after all.

New Follow Button and Counter

I just added a FOLLOW button to the right and an apple counter at the very bottom. Wish I'd thought of it before but there is no time like the present.

I just got a bunch of new yarn because Walmart is closing out their craft department at the store in Buena Park at the Red Heart yarn was marked down to $2.00 a skein. It doesn't take much yarn to make a finger puppet. But I use yarn for everything from lap blankets to hats. I'm in no danger of running out of yarn anytime soon.

I want to come up with a handmade way to make puppet eyes so I'm no longer enslaved by the plastic eyes. I've tried felt, embroidery thread, and buttons. But I want something even more unique than that. I'll have to put on my thinking cap.

Best Puppetmakers on Etsy

Yay I got a treasury. I called it Best Puppetmakers on Etsy. So hop on over there to see it. BEST

It will be up until Friday at 9 PM. It's a fun and colorful group of hand puppets, finger puppets, marionettes and big mouthed puppets.

Two New Finger Puppets by Pigglewiggins

I just listed two new finger puppets in my Etsy shop. One is a rainbow butterfly with purple sequined wings and the other is a funky froggie. They should show up there in my Etsy Mini over on the side.

In honor of my new puppets I'm trying to snag an Etsy treasury called the Best Puppetmakers on Etsy. If I get one I'll let you know. Plenty of inspiration out there in puppetland to keep me busy for years.

Octopus Finger Puppets

Show my new guys some love. I hope to make some different sea creatures soon. Though I do love cephalopods.

Bike Chain Bracelet

If puppets can make a bike chain bracelet, so can you.

New Octopus Finger Puppet

This yellow guy is the first of I hope many octopuses. He is crocheted in yellow yarn with funny wiggly eyes for you cephalopod lovers out there. I already have a rainbow octupus and a aquarmarine one finished but haven't had time to take good photos. It feels good to have a new puppet around.

Hollywood Walk of Fame Shari Lewis

Today when I was walking down Hollywood Blvd. I saw a star on the sidewalk for Shari Lewis (ventriloquist for Lambchop). Other than her many TV appearances, I saw her live once at the L.A. County Fair in Pomona. So I was just tickled when I saw she had a star. Hopefully I'll remember to add the photo here when I'm not too tired.It's been a very long day.

Puppets Rule

I have puppets on my mind today. I have a puppet Twitter here: http://twitter.com/TippythePuppet I want to make some new puppets for my Etsy Shop now that that stupid law has been put on hold for a year for further study. You know the one that wants every single toy checked for lead even if it's made out of yarn and could easily put starving artists out of business.

So, what kind of puppets should I make? Now that I've done some wood carving I'd love to carve a puppet head. And I really haven't explored gourd puppets all that much. And big mouth puppets might be fun. Do you have a puppet opinion?